Toys have been in the headlines over the past few weeks as two products
manufactured in China and sold by Mattel were recalled after it was found
that they constituted a serious danger.

Now Trading Standards officers at
Ealing Council are asking parents to destroy locally bought cheap toy mobile phones which
could seriously harm children.

Over the past few weeks, hundreds of potentially lethal children's toys have
been seized by Ealing Council's Trading Standards team. Officers swooped on
around 20 shops and market stalls across the borough and confiscated the
dangerous toy mobile phones.

These toys (pictured right) pose a number of serious risks such as choking,
poisoning, burns and rashes.

The small batteries are easily accessible and children will put them in
their mouths. It creates a choking hazard but if swallowed could lead to
internal chemical burns. The ring tones on a sample of those seized also
have the potential to damage the child's hearing.

We spoke to Doug Love, Head of the Trading Standards Team. He told us: "Of
course there's no problem with cheap toys - so long as they are safe for
children to use. However, we are keen to clear the marketplace of these products and issue a
clear warning to anyone who may have bought them or to parents of children
who may have been given these toys.

"The toys should be destroyed immediately. It's not worth taking them back
to the shop as they are so cheap. The traders who sold them would probably
not have known that they are dangerous. We are working with these traders to
try to get to the source of the problem, i.e the importers."

Sue Emment, Cabinet Member for Safer Communities, said: "This is a lot of
cheap £1 tat that could ultimately cost a child's life. The importers are
clearly more interested in profit than children's safety."

The toys are being securely stored and will be used as evidence in any court
action. Officers are continuing their investigations to trace the importers
of these toys.

Cllr Emment added: "Parents must be warned about these toys and should
contact us with any information that may help our ongoing investigations.
Making communities safer is one of our three priorities and we will continue
to carry out checks among businesses in Ealing to ensure only legitimate and
safe products are on sale."

If you have information on the sales of these dangerous toys please contact
Ealing Council's trading standards team on (020) 8825 6086.